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It Stings So Sweet
They vibrated with incendiary Jazz. They teemed with sexual abandon.The Twenties were roaring and the women—young, open, rebellious, and willing—set the pace and pushed the limits with every man they met…
In the aftermath of a wild, liquor-soaked party, three women from very different social classes are about to live out their forbidden desires.
Society girl, Nora Richardson's passionate nature has always been a challenge to her ever-patient husband. Now he wants out of the marriage and she has just this one night to win him back. The catch? He wants to punish her for her bad behavior. Nora is offended by her husband's increasingly depraved demands, but as the night unfolds, she discovers her own true nature and that the line between pain and pleasure is very thin indeed.
Meanwhile, Clara Cartwright, sultry siren of the silent screen, is introduced to a mysterious WWI Flying Ace. If Clara, darling of the scandal sheets, knows anything, it’s men. And she’s known plenty. But none of them push her boundaries like the aviator, who lures her into a ménage with a stranger in a darkened cinema then steals her jaded heart.
Working class girl Sophie O'Brien has more important things on her mind than pleasures of the flesh. But when her playboy boss, the wealthy heir to the Aster family fortune, confronts her with her diary of secret sex fantasies, she could die of shame. To her surprise, he doesn't fire her; instead, he dares her to re-enact her boldest fantasies and Sophie is utterly seduced.
One party serves as a catalyst of sexual awakening. And in an age when anything goes, three women discover that anything is possible…
In the aftermath of a wild, liquor-soaked party, three women from very different social classes are about to live out their forbidden desires.
Society girl, Nora Richardson's passionate nature has always been a challenge to her ever-patient husband. Now he wants out of the marriage and she has just this one night to win him back. The catch? He wants to punish her for her bad behavior. Nora is offended by her husband's increasingly depraved demands, but as the night unfolds, she discovers her own true nature and that the line between pain and pleasure is very thin indeed.
Meanwhile, Clara Cartwright, sultry siren of the silent screen, is introduced to a mysterious WWI Flying Ace. If Clara, darling of the scandal sheets, knows anything, it’s men. And she’s known plenty. But none of them push her boundaries like the aviator, who lures her into a ménage with a stranger in a darkened cinema then steals her jaded heart.
Working class girl Sophie O'Brien has more important things on her mind than pleasures of the flesh. But when her playboy boss, the wealthy heir to the Aster family fortune, confronts her with her diary of secret sex fantasies, she could die of shame. To her surprise, he doesn't fire her; instead, he dares her to re-enact her boldest fantasies and Sophie is utterly seduced.
One party serves as a catalyst of sexual awakening. And in an age when anything goes, three women discover that anything is possible…
340 pages, Paperback
First published February 5, 2013
18 people are currently reading
1224 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Draven
18 books203 followersStephanie Draven lives in a city of ravens and purple night skies with her favorite nocturnal creatures. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
July 27, 2016
What looks to be separate stories about three women during the Roaring 20’s era slowly begins to intersect around the middle of the second one.
Nora Richardson, Clara Cartwright and Sophie O'Brien led different and completely separate lives. They couldn't be more different and their paths never would have crossed if not for certain men who altered their life courses. What they do share is an unusual perspective about sex and romance, at least it's considered to be "abnormal" in the Prohibition and Temperance era.
The set up
Nora, a wealthy socialite, is fighting to keep her husband from abandoning their broken marriage. He "married up" and can't keep up the genteel facade any longer. Clara is a silent screen star who came up the hard way and the tough veneer protects the vulnerable woman underneath until she meets a brash and interesting man who's determined to crack it. Sophie is young and determined to be a voice for the underdogs, those being women and employees at the hotel where she works, that is until she has an unusual encounter with the owner's son.
The issues
Each of these women stumble into their sexual awakening and embrace what they find. Their men are also going through the same discoveries with them and at times it's not pretty as they grapple with perceptions of perversion or abnormal behavior. But, the common ground is, it's highly satisfying for all of them.
What surprised me
I have little interest in this period in our history other than the Art Deco style that emerged from it (the most extraordinary jewelry and interior designs we've ever seen) and was concerned whether I'd be able to connect to the characters and issues they faced. I shouldn't have worried as I quickly recalled the slang, dress style (flappers) from the old B&W films of my youth.
One of the stories was dangerously close to being pure erotica and I discovered it wasn't going to work for me without the romance. Fortunately it wasn't an issue.
The bottom line
I won't tell you how these stories and characters connect because you should enjoy that discovery on your own, as I did. The characters are lushly drawn, the sex highly erotic without being too graphic (BDSM elements, ménage and role playing), the men sexy and appealing and the stories just plain interesting. I loved the loose connections that ended up making a difference. This book is unconventional and for me, it was my diamond in the rough for the month!
(I received an ARC from the author)
Nora Richardson, Clara Cartwright and Sophie O'Brien led different and completely separate lives. They couldn't be more different and their paths never would have crossed if not for certain men who altered their life courses. What they do share is an unusual perspective about sex and romance, at least it's considered to be "abnormal" in the Prohibition and Temperance era.
The set up
Nora, a wealthy socialite, is fighting to keep her husband from abandoning their broken marriage. He "married up" and can't keep up the genteel facade any longer. Clara is a silent screen star who came up the hard way and the tough veneer protects the vulnerable woman underneath until she meets a brash and interesting man who's determined to crack it. Sophie is young and determined to be a voice for the underdogs, those being women and employees at the hotel where she works, that is until she has an unusual encounter with the owner's son.
The issues
Each of these women stumble into their sexual awakening and embrace what they find. Their men are also going through the same discoveries with them and at times it's not pretty as they grapple with perceptions of perversion or abnormal behavior. But, the common ground is, it's highly satisfying for all of them.
What surprised me
I have little interest in this period in our history other than the Art Deco style that emerged from it (the most extraordinary jewelry and interior designs we've ever seen) and was concerned whether I'd be able to connect to the characters and issues they faced. I shouldn't have worried as I quickly recalled the slang, dress style (flappers) from the old B&W films of my youth.
One of the stories was dangerously close to being pure erotica and I discovered it wasn't going to work for me without the romance. Fortunately it wasn't an issue.
The bottom line
I won't tell you how these stories and characters connect because you should enjoy that discovery on your own, as I did. The characters are lushly drawn, the sex highly erotic without being too graphic (BDSM elements, ménage and role playing), the men sexy and appealing and the stories just plain interesting. I loved the loose connections that ended up making a difference. This book is unconventional and for me, it was my diamond in the rough for the month!
(I received an ARC from the author)
February 4, 2013
3.5 stars
Posted on Under the Covers
The book first caught my eye because of its amazing cover. Iconic and representative of the era in which Draven is exploring, the 1920s vibe definitely intrigued me enough to try the book out. Since there are so many aspects to this book, I’m going to break it down into categories for easier reading…
The Format:
What’s most interesting about this book is the way it is written. There are three stories, each with its own HEA. However, they intertwine and bleed into one another, creating a cohesive whole as a result. I really enjoyed this format and think more authors should try it. It shows Draven’s skill as a writer and gives readers an opportunity to see the pacing and plotting in a more obvious light. It kind of reminds me of the Julia Quinn, Connie Brockway and Eloisa James books that they have been releasing. Super fun and unique!
The Stories:
Draven breaks the book down into three separate stories where each of the heroines are being liberated sexually. In LEAVE ME OR LOVE ME, Nora is a society girl who has one night to regain the affections of her husband who plans on leaving her. However, her husband wishes to punish her in a harsh, but very sexy way. As the first story, I was just getting into the swing of things and I think this book requires a bit of an adjustment period. I’ve read other books by Draven and noticed that she likes writing rough heroes, so much so that they can come on as too strong. Johnathan felt this way at first for me. The slapping and the outrageous demands were a little of a shock to me at first, but you have to keep in mind that Nora enjoys it quite a lot and that this is the nature of their relationship. Once I remembered that, I found that I enjoyed it quite a bit.
In WHEN I’M BAD I’M BETTER, Clara Cartwright is a silent screen actress and she has a hot thing for the mysterious WWI Flying Ace. This story was super hot, introducing a ménage with a particularly sexy third wheel. There’s no question that the sex is smoking. Clare is one lucky girl!
The last story is LET’S MISBEHAVE and working class girl Sophie O’Brian frees herself sexually with a wealthy heir to the Aster family fortune. This one was enjoyable as well. Sizzling sexual tension with an interesting plot made this a quick read.
The only problem I had with this book is that sometimes the dialogue and descriptions were a little off and I didn’t think the conflicts were all that strong. However, Draven does a great job of mixing the modern and the old into an intoxicating mix.
IT STINGS SO SWEET is a unique take on erotic romance. If you’re looking for a story that is different, sexually charged and smoking hot, then Draven has the answer.
*ARC provided by author
Posted on Under the Covers
The book first caught my eye because of its amazing cover. Iconic and representative of the era in which Draven is exploring, the 1920s vibe definitely intrigued me enough to try the book out. Since there are so many aspects to this book, I’m going to break it down into categories for easier reading…
The Format:
What’s most interesting about this book is the way it is written. There are three stories, each with its own HEA. However, they intertwine and bleed into one another, creating a cohesive whole as a result. I really enjoyed this format and think more authors should try it. It shows Draven’s skill as a writer and gives readers an opportunity to see the pacing and plotting in a more obvious light. It kind of reminds me of the Julia Quinn, Connie Brockway and Eloisa James books that they have been releasing. Super fun and unique!
The Stories:
Draven breaks the book down into three separate stories where each of the heroines are being liberated sexually. In LEAVE ME OR LOVE ME, Nora is a society girl who has one night to regain the affections of her husband who plans on leaving her. However, her husband wishes to punish her in a harsh, but very sexy way. As the first story, I was just getting into the swing of things and I think this book requires a bit of an adjustment period. I’ve read other books by Draven and noticed that she likes writing rough heroes, so much so that they can come on as too strong. Johnathan felt this way at first for me. The slapping and the outrageous demands were a little of a shock to me at first, but you have to keep in mind that Nora enjoys it quite a lot and that this is the nature of their relationship. Once I remembered that, I found that I enjoyed it quite a bit.
In WHEN I’M BAD I’M BETTER, Clara Cartwright is a silent screen actress and she has a hot thing for the mysterious WWI Flying Ace. This story was super hot, introducing a ménage with a particularly sexy third wheel. There’s no question that the sex is smoking. Clare is one lucky girl!
The last story is LET’S MISBEHAVE and working class girl Sophie O’Brian frees herself sexually with a wealthy heir to the Aster family fortune. This one was enjoyable as well. Sizzling sexual tension with an interesting plot made this a quick read.
The only problem I had with this book is that sometimes the dialogue and descriptions were a little off and I didn’t think the conflicts were all that strong. However, Draven does a great job of mixing the modern and the old into an intoxicating mix.
IT STINGS SO SWEET is a unique take on erotic romance. If you’re looking for a story that is different, sexually charged and smoking hot, then Draven has the answer.
*ARC provided by author
March 13, 2013
Holy Hot Heroes, this book is amazing! It Stings So Sweet by Stephanie Draven is actually made up of 3 different stories each one linked to the other in an odd way or another. Each story has its own unique tale to tell and its own erotic way of telling it. I was squirming in my seat the whole time I read it.
Love Me or Leave Me is the first story of the book. It tells the story of Nora Richardson and her husband Jonathan. Their tale has such a sad start, but works it out in the most erotic fashion.
Nora and Jonathan met at a party and had a night of amazing passion. She finds herself pregnant and Jonathan does the right thing by marrying her. Nora soon after miscarries and any passion that she and Jonathan had shared up till then has disappeared. This brings us to present day where Jonathan is stating his intentions of divorcing Nora and Nora is trying to find any way she can to save what little bit of marriage they have had in the last year. In this quest Nora learns of Jonathans deeper, darker needs and how he’s afraid his desires are too seedy and debasing for Nora. Little does he know, Nora yearns to be dominated and wants nothing more than to be what it is Jonathan craves.
“I’m mine to give, Jonathan. And no one can decide, but you, whether or not to give yourself to me in return.”
The journey this couple share to overcome their problems and to learn how far is too far is such a sensual trip you will find yourself steaming up. I absolutely loved this story!
When I’m Bad I’m Better is the second story of the book and a perfect 5 out of 5 rating. It tells the story of silent screen actress Clara Cartwright and ace fighter pilot Leo Vanderberg. This is a tale of dominance and how letting go can be the best way to gain the most pleasure.
Clara Cartwright is used to getting what she wants using what god has given her, her sexuality and talents. She decided a long time ago that she wouldn’t allow a man to use her; she would be doing the using first. Enter Leo Vanderberg. He knows all of Clara’s exploits and has no problems with her history. He doesn’t want a blushing virgin, but he is hell bent on being the best and finding some firsts to bestow upon Clara. His confidence and cockiness is an aphrodisiac all on their own. His bag of tricks and personal talents are just a bonus. When love comes into play Clara finds herself being swept away and it scares her. Luckily, she has a hot, alpha male to soften her fall.
“Goddamn it, Clara. How can you love yourself so little when I love you so much?”
This book is hot, hot, hot. You’ll find it hard not to self-combust as the story unfolds.
Let’s Misbehave is the third and final story in It Stings So Sweet. It’s such a perfect ending to a fabulous book. It tells the story of rich, bad boy Robert Aster and feminist Sophie O’Brien. This is a tale of sensual exploration and freedom to be the woman you want to be.
Sophie O’Brien has a list of complaints and demands a mile long. Working in the Aster hotel is not all roses and wine. The employees, especially the women, aren’t treated even close to equal. However, it seems her problems are even bigger than she thought. Summoned to the boss’s offices she expects a reprimand for her feminist views. Instead she finds that Robert Aster, the owner’s son, has Sophie’s diary of her deepest fantasies. Embarrassed beyond belief she expects to be dismissed immediately. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Robert to make the offer of fulfilling every fantasy she’s ever dreamed of and some she never even knew she wanted.
“I need you, too, Sophie. Because you make me feel like a man.”
This is truly one of the most erotic books I’ve read in a long time. It’s not just all about sex, though. You’ll love the characters and enjoy reading of their adventures. If you are looking for a sensual, hot and steamy read you absolutely can’t go wrong with this book.
I would like to offer a special thank you to Stephanie Draven for the loan of this book in exchange for my honest review.
You can find this review and others at http://tinar1121.blogspot.com
Love Me or Leave Me is the first story of the book. It tells the story of Nora Richardson and her husband Jonathan. Their tale has such a sad start, but works it out in the most erotic fashion.
Nora and Jonathan met at a party and had a night of amazing passion. She finds herself pregnant and Jonathan does the right thing by marrying her. Nora soon after miscarries and any passion that she and Jonathan had shared up till then has disappeared. This brings us to present day where Jonathan is stating his intentions of divorcing Nora and Nora is trying to find any way she can to save what little bit of marriage they have had in the last year. In this quest Nora learns of Jonathans deeper, darker needs and how he’s afraid his desires are too seedy and debasing for Nora. Little does he know, Nora yearns to be dominated and wants nothing more than to be what it is Jonathan craves.
“I’m mine to give, Jonathan. And no one can decide, but you, whether or not to give yourself to me in return.”
The journey this couple share to overcome their problems and to learn how far is too far is such a sensual trip you will find yourself steaming up. I absolutely loved this story!
When I’m Bad I’m Better is the second story of the book and a perfect 5 out of 5 rating. It tells the story of silent screen actress Clara Cartwright and ace fighter pilot Leo Vanderberg. This is a tale of dominance and how letting go can be the best way to gain the most pleasure.
Clara Cartwright is used to getting what she wants using what god has given her, her sexuality and talents. She decided a long time ago that she wouldn’t allow a man to use her; she would be doing the using first. Enter Leo Vanderberg. He knows all of Clara’s exploits and has no problems with her history. He doesn’t want a blushing virgin, but he is hell bent on being the best and finding some firsts to bestow upon Clara. His confidence and cockiness is an aphrodisiac all on their own. His bag of tricks and personal talents are just a bonus. When love comes into play Clara finds herself being swept away and it scares her. Luckily, she has a hot, alpha male to soften her fall.
“Goddamn it, Clara. How can you love yourself so little when I love you so much?”
This book is hot, hot, hot. You’ll find it hard not to self-combust as the story unfolds.
Let’s Misbehave is the third and final story in It Stings So Sweet. It’s such a perfect ending to a fabulous book. It tells the story of rich, bad boy Robert Aster and feminist Sophie O’Brien. This is a tale of sensual exploration and freedom to be the woman you want to be.
Sophie O’Brien has a list of complaints and demands a mile long. Working in the Aster hotel is not all roses and wine. The employees, especially the women, aren’t treated even close to equal. However, it seems her problems are even bigger than she thought. Summoned to the boss’s offices she expects a reprimand for her feminist views. Instead she finds that Robert Aster, the owner’s son, has Sophie’s diary of her deepest fantasies. Embarrassed beyond belief she expects to be dismissed immediately. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Robert to make the offer of fulfilling every fantasy she’s ever dreamed of and some she never even knew she wanted.
“I need you, too, Sophie. Because you make me feel like a man.”
This is truly one of the most erotic books I’ve read in a long time. It’s not just all about sex, though. You’ll love the characters and enjoy reading of their adventures. If you are looking for a sensual, hot and steamy read you absolutely can’t go wrong with this book.
I would like to offer a special thank you to Stephanie Draven for the loan of this book in exchange for my honest review.
You can find this review and others at http://tinar1121.blogspot.com
August 28, 2013
I started this immediately following RWA and had to take a break after 2nd story because I think I went into a too-hot-to-think-clearly coma. I'm not kidding. Not only is it VERY well written, but it "Stings So Sweet." This is extremely erotic, and set in a time I've always been drawn to. Pair all that together and... Wow. Ladies, get your fans out.
February 4, 2019
A very interesting, very erotic book. It is an anthology of three related stories set in 1920s Hollywood. There is a bit of all kinds of erotic encounters. This should appeal to any fan of erotic romance. But there are also three great romances going on. The characters were well developed and engaging. Very well written and notch above many erotic novels.
Read
July 16, 2023DNF 11%. Yeah, call me a snowflake, but a woman getting off on her husband’s physical and verbal abuse of her crosses a line. No thanks.
May 1, 2013
I read a lot of romance novels, but I haven’t read too many of the more explicit erotic type novels and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. Not all of the sexual situations were my cup of tea, but they all were hot. I found the book to be well written and I cared about the characters and wanted them to all have their happy endings. The book is divided into 3 parts & the middle story (which happens to be the longest) was my favorite. This hasn’t happened to me in a while, but after reading this book I actually want to look up other books by this author and check them out!
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
July 25, 2015
Incredibly written. I probably should read more historicals than I do, simply because of my educational background. But this book blends some of my favorite topics: well-written erotica, romance, love, passion, and 20th Century history. I loved the first story and thought it couldn't get better...until the second...and the third...and now I honestly can't decide which one I liked best.
Sharp and hot as hell. A must read. Worth every penny you pay for it.
Sharp and hot as hell. A must read. Worth every penny you pay for it.
December 9, 2016
SMEXY TIMES IN THE ROARING TWENTIES
(Wanna WATCH this review, instead of reading it? Yes? Clicky McClick the link. No? Keep reading, you cool human, you.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmQnN...
Dude. HOT!
Everybody and their dead fourth cousin knows two things; I lack a filter and am always thirsty for the bowchickawowwow in my romances. So, knowing that, know this; Stings So Sweet is at level 112 on the Sex Fun scale and is SO so SOOO not PG-13. If you don’t like intense smexy times getting erotic like whoa, this book isn’t for you.
That disclaimer out of the way, OH MY GOD READ THIS BOOK!
BECAUSE OH MY GOD I READ THIS BOOK!
And that’s wow because said book fought an uphill battle for my attention. Not only is it a 1920s historical, not only is it erotica and far more legit with the sexing, not only was it three individual romances under one book cover, but it was first person present tense and that’s no.
AND YET DAMN GOOD BOOK WAS DAMN YES!
For many reasons, partly because all three stories exist in the same world set among the same group of people, partly because it was hot as hell, and partly because it was SO powerful! That intro done, I’m going to shut up and start talking!
Story #1: Love Me Or Leave Me
You know what I like? Internal conflict and sex.
That’s handy, because that’s Norma and Jonathan all the way. Their story opens with some hardcore backstory that’s got this married couple about to call it quits, and here’s the thing. Normally I big sigh over married OTPs because it’s hard to come back from whatever’s about to destroy the relationship, but with this couple?
I was completely okay with their screwed up relationship AND their eventual healed marriage.
Yes I suck, since I’m making it sound like their explosive emotional tension was boring, but it wasn’t and I can’t say why it wasn’t because dude spoilers. I can say, if you’re okay with BDSM in your roaring 20s story with a quietly strong female lead and an intense but adoring husband then read this book JUST READ THIS BOOK.
Norma and Jonathan’s fundamental conflicts are rooted in misunderstandings set against a tragedy while sexual preferences adds the last layer of fun to this shindig. The hero and heroine are both kind of screwed up, and they suck at communicating, but you as a reader SO desperately want them to find their way back together.
Put simply, you like them, and you like them liking each other, and that makes their story pretty damn likable.
Story #2: When I'm Bad, I'm Better
I’m dumb and boring and craptastic so I can’t do the words to explain how much you need to put Clara and Leo’s story in your face; you just gotta.
These two and their little adventure are evocative and sensual and taboo and probably one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful love stories you’re ever gonna read. It’s about two very lonely people finding and healing one another in a way that’s, forgive the hyperbole, straight up poetic.
Firstly, there’s our heroine, and I swear to you on a basket of kittens you’re going to love this woman. Clara is a worldly silent screen starlet; she’s seen it all and done it all at least twice and yes I’m talking sexually. She’s had a string of lovers, and she’s broken, though not because of her promiscuous past. Our girl is convinced her sexual and emotional past have tarnished her, despite her definitely having come out stronger as result.
DAMMIT I LOVE HER!...About as much as I love Leo.
Leo’s pretty much everything Clara can’t have; he’s reckless and stubborn and pursues her in a way that is downright carnally scrumptious. Like in all eroticas, the sex is what drives the plot, and it's through sex that the emotional through lines are established. Power dynamics, blackmail, menage trois, you name it, it’s all here..
Clara’s journey was so enjoyably satisfying, having been as sexually erotic as it was emotionally moving. Her experiences underscored the value of self-acceptance, of how important it is to never allow someone or a group of someones to dictate your moral compass or your guide to happiness.
That’s a cool message and all, but it packs a harder punch when on the heels of a beautiful romance that gets your heart doing the rumba.
Dammit why can’t I grin my happy-face any harder?!
*Cue all my happy sighs!*
Story #3: Let's Misbehave
Last up on the safe talk agenda we have my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE STORY AND I JUST CAN’T OKAY I CAN’T BUT I NEED TO AND I CAN’T!
Let’s Misbehave is legit the best short out of the three, and that’s because of many, many things.
Thing One is that I’m biased and Sophie stole my heart. She’s working class, she’s a firebrand activist, and she’s plopped into a power dynamic with, of course, her rich boss. And I am SOOOO here for smart poor girls and rich sweet employers because I’m shameless and it’s fun.
Plus Robert’s amazing, like AMAAAAZING!
Yep. I heart him.
It doesn’t hurt that the heat levels, fantasies, and sex plots were unbelievably intense in Let’s Misbehave, and it DEFINITELY doesn’t hurt that I found the leads to be the most emotionally compelling.
Thing Two for why I heart Sophie and Robert’s story so much is because yay for sexy funtimes, but BIGGER yay for an interesting heroine in an interesting conflict!
Sophie is a woman who fights for social equality while simultaneously conflicted about her submissive sexual preferences. As such, her story is fascinating because it becomes as much about society as it does about sex.
DAYUM SON!
Throw in the impressive OTP chemistry, the emotionally charged romance, and the amazing characters and writing and just GOOD STORY IS GOOD!
No, good BOOK is good. All three of these couples effected me with horny pants and a happy heart, and I am so all about that kind of fiction. The writing in all three stories is erotic and kinky as hell but it's also intense in that there's a thread of heightened emotional tension that was explosive in a way few authors can capture.
Whether it was in the more nuanced prose, or just quotes like “We both taste like liquor and heartbreak,” either way Stephanie Draven impressed me.
Character and story structure never get sacrificed for the sake of titillation, and sex scenes are AWESOME but sex scenes that capture emotional vulnerability while driving the story are SO much more erotic...and also make me happy.
And yes, the billiards room scene in Clara and Leo’s story makes me happy with happiness, too, because hey...I’m weak and thirsty, judge me not!
Especially if you’ve not read this book. Now go away. I have feelings and emotions I need to process. It’s important.
------------------------------------------------
(If you like my writing voice or you think I’m funny...[or you just really wanna laugh at a fangirl for fangirling]...then SHAMELESS YOUTUBE CHANNEL PLUG IS SHAMELESS! I review romance novels and Asian dramas, so that is a thing and now you know.)
Fangirl Musings: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6fO...
(Wanna WATCH this review, instead of reading it? Yes? Clicky McClick the link. No? Keep reading, you cool human, you.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmQnN...
Dude. HOT!
Everybody and their dead fourth cousin knows two things; I lack a filter and am always thirsty for the bowchickawowwow in my romances. So, knowing that, know this; Stings So Sweet is at level 112 on the Sex Fun scale and is SO so SOOO not PG-13. If you don’t like intense smexy times getting erotic like whoa, this book isn’t for you.
That disclaimer out of the way, OH MY GOD READ THIS BOOK!
BECAUSE OH MY GOD I READ THIS BOOK!
And that’s wow because said book fought an uphill battle for my attention. Not only is it a 1920s historical, not only is it erotica and far more legit with the sexing, not only was it three individual romances under one book cover, but it was first person present tense and that’s no.
AND YET DAMN GOOD BOOK WAS DAMN YES!
For many reasons, partly because all three stories exist in the same world set among the same group of people, partly because it was hot as hell, and partly because it was SO powerful! That intro done, I’m going to shut up and start talking!
Story #1: Love Me Or Leave Me
You know what I like? Internal conflict and sex.
That’s handy, because that’s Norma and Jonathan all the way. Their story opens with some hardcore backstory that’s got this married couple about to call it quits, and here’s the thing. Normally I big sigh over married OTPs because it’s hard to come back from whatever’s about to destroy the relationship, but with this couple?
I was completely okay with their screwed up relationship AND their eventual healed marriage.
Yes I suck, since I’m making it sound like their explosive emotional tension was boring, but it wasn’t and I can’t say why it wasn’t because dude spoilers. I can say, if you’re okay with BDSM in your roaring 20s story with a quietly strong female lead and an intense but adoring husband then read this book JUST READ THIS BOOK.
Norma and Jonathan’s fundamental conflicts are rooted in misunderstandings set against a tragedy while sexual preferences adds the last layer of fun to this shindig. The hero and heroine are both kind of screwed up, and they suck at communicating, but you as a reader SO desperately want them to find their way back together.
Put simply, you like them, and you like them liking each other, and that makes their story pretty damn likable.
Story #2: When I'm Bad, I'm Better
I’m dumb and boring and craptastic so I can’t do the words to explain how much you need to put Clara and Leo’s story in your face; you just gotta.
These two and their little adventure are evocative and sensual and taboo and probably one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful love stories you’re ever gonna read. It’s about two very lonely people finding and healing one another in a way that’s, forgive the hyperbole, straight up poetic.
Firstly, there’s our heroine, and I swear to you on a basket of kittens you’re going to love this woman. Clara is a worldly silent screen starlet; she’s seen it all and done it all at least twice and yes I’m talking sexually. She’s had a string of lovers, and she’s broken, though not because of her promiscuous past. Our girl is convinced her sexual and emotional past have tarnished her, despite her definitely having come out stronger as result.
Every morning, I wake up with a knife against my throat, Leo. And I fight it. Every day of my life, I kick and punch an elbow my way past it. But sometimes I get tired. Some days, I don’t think I’m going to be strong enough. Someday I’m going to lose. - Clara
DAMMIT I LOVE HER!...About as much as I love Leo.
Leo’s pretty much everything Clara can’t have; he’s reckless and stubborn and pursues her in a way that is downright carnally scrumptious. Like in all eroticas, the sex is what drives the plot, and it's through sex that the emotional through lines are established. Power dynamics, blackmail, menage trois, you name it, it’s all here..
Clara’s journey was so enjoyably satisfying, having been as sexually erotic as it was emotionally moving. Her experiences underscored the value of self-acceptance, of how important it is to never allow someone or a group of someones to dictate your moral compass or your guide to happiness.
That’s a cool message and all, but it packs a harder punch when on the heels of a beautiful romance that gets your heart doing the rumba.
Dammit why can’t I grin my happy-face any harder?!
In this, and in everything, Leo keeps his promises to me. We fuck, we make love, we play bedroom games the rules of which are known only to us. We’re a couple of fools in love. And we’re happy. We’re madly, deliriously happy. - Clara
*Cue all my happy sighs!*
Story #3: Let's Misbehave
Last up on the safe talk agenda we have my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE STORY AND I JUST CAN’T OKAY I CAN’T BUT I NEED TO AND I CAN’T!
Let’s Misbehave is legit the best short out of the three, and that’s because of many, many things.
Thing One is that I’m biased and Sophie stole my heart. She’s working class, she’s a firebrand activist, and she’s plopped into a power dynamic with, of course, her rich boss. And I am SOOOO here for smart poor girls and rich sweet employers because I’m shameless and it’s fun.
Plus Robert’s amazing, like AMAAAAZING!
I wish you wouldn’t be embarrassed. I think most women are ashamed of thoughts like these, so men don't know that you have them. We assume you’re all angels we taint with our own base desires rather than earthly creatures with desires of your own. That’s a tragic mistake I’ve made at least once before. - Robert
Yep. I heart him.
It doesn’t hurt that the heat levels, fantasies, and sex plots were unbelievably intense in Let’s Misbehave, and it DEFINITELY doesn’t hurt that I found the leads to be the most emotionally compelling.
Thing Two for why I heart Sophie and Robert’s story so much is because yay for sexy funtimes, but BIGGER yay for an interesting heroine in an interesting conflict!
Sophie is a woman who fights for social equality while simultaneously conflicted about her submissive sexual preferences. As such, her story is fascinating because it becomes as much about society as it does about sex.
Am I the girl who loves strong hands holding her down or am I the girl who can hold herself up? - Sophie
DAYUM SON!
Throw in the impressive OTP chemistry, the emotionally charged romance, and the amazing characters and writing and just GOOD STORY IS GOOD!
No, good BOOK is good. All three of these couples effected me with horny pants and a happy heart, and I am so all about that kind of fiction. The writing in all three stories is erotic and kinky as hell but it's also intense in that there's a thread of heightened emotional tension that was explosive in a way few authors can capture.
Whether it was in the more nuanced prose, or just quotes like “We both taste like liquor and heartbreak,” either way Stephanie Draven impressed me.
Character and story structure never get sacrificed for the sake of titillation, and sex scenes are AWESOME but sex scenes that capture emotional vulnerability while driving the story are SO much more erotic...and also make me happy.
And yes, the billiards room scene in Clara and Leo’s story makes me happy with happiness, too, because hey...I’m weak and thirsty, judge me not!
Especially if you’ve not read this book. Now go away. I have feelings and emotions I need to process. It’s important.
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(If you like my writing voice or you think I’m funny...[or you just really wanna laugh at a fangirl for fangirling]...then SHAMELESS YOUTUBE CHANNEL PLUG IS SHAMELESS! I review romance novels and Asian dramas, so that is a thing and now you know.)
Fangirl Musings: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6fO...
March 4, 2013
Three raunchy novellas. Very well written and the context is interesting and new. I prefered the second and longest novella but all of them presetn interesting character with a plot integrated i this périod.
http://www.blue-moon.fr/spip.php?arti...
Avis de Callixta
La romance historique a aussi ses auteures érotiques mais elles sont plus rares, surtout lorsqu’on sort des époques classiques. Cela rend le livre de Stephanie Draven d’autant plus intéressant puisqu’il se déroule entre 1928 et 1929 à Hollywood. Le roman est aussi original puisqu’il met en scène trois couples au cours de trois nouvelles. Attention, ils n’ont pas froid aux yeux et entre ménages à trois et recherche de la douleur/plaisir, le livre est très érotique.
Le grand plaisir est la reconstitution de cette période. Quelques romances sont déjà sorties sans doute encouragées par The Artist. Nous sommes en effet à Los Angeles, à Hollywood et pour une des héroïnes, dans le milieu du cinéma. La première nouvelle est en réalité la suite d’une histoire commencée dans un texte publié précédemment. Cela rend l’histoire un peu courte et donne une impression d’avoir manqué des éléments. Les protagonistes masculins sont tous présents au cours d’une soirée qui va les mettre en contact avec la femme de leur vie ou une partenaire clé.
Dans la première romance, nous découvrons un couple mal assorti composé de la fille d’un riche homme d’affaires qui, après une aventure avec son chauffeur , s’est retrouvée enceinte. Si le chauffeur s’est révélé un businessman averti, le mariage obligé qui en a découlé s’est mal passé et le couple est sur le point de se séparer. C’est un homme très important dans cette nouvelle qui est le héros de la nouvelle suivante, la plus longue et la plus fouillée qui rapproche un as de l’aviation, Leo et une star du cinéma Clara. Enfin c’est un ami très proche de Leo, Robert qui est le héros de la dernière histoire qui le met en présence d’une femme politiquement engagée et féministe.
Le choix de ces personnages et des histoires nous plonge directement dans l’époque concernée. La première nouvelle met l’accent sur les différences sociales qui commencent à ne plus être aussi marquées qu’avant. La seconde met en présence une sorte de Lindbergh, un pilote de guerre hors pair qui est maintenant au service d’essais d’aéroplanes et une actrice du muet qui n’hésite pas à passer derrière la caméra. Enfin, la dernière héroïne est fascinante dans son combat pour promouvoir les moyens de contraception dans un pays où ils sont alors interdits et de défendre les plus pauvres. Cela contribue à planter le décor et à nous montrer des personnages emblématiques et nouveaux.
Les trois histoires s’enchainent remarquablement dans une atmosphère érotique sophistiquée. Nos couples ont des désirs peu classiques, aiment la douleur, se montrer en public ou les ménages à trois. Malgré l’aspect osé du roman, l’histoire est remarquablement écrite, il n’y a pas l’ombre d’une vulgarité et leurs pratiques sexuelles sont profondément inscrites dans leur vie et leur comportement psychologique. Cela donne une lecture fascinante, profonde où rien n’est gratuit.
Les trois nouvelles sont inégales, la première est sans doute la moins convaincante à cause de son aspect rapide mais la seconde est remarquable avec une lente séduction de Clara par Leo, qui ne cède en rien et va aller au-delà des fragilités et des doutes que la jeune actrice a sur elle-même. Robert, leur partenaire, fils d’un ambassadeur aura à faire face à une passionaria adorable et qui aime les fessées. Cette troisième nouvelle tient aussi toutes ses promesses.
Voilà donc un recueil de nouvelles bien ficelées, osées, dans un contexte originale, écrit par une auteure à suivre. Vous l’avez peut-être déjà lu si vous aimez les Harlequin Nocturne. Elle a également commis une romance contemporaine chez Entangled Publishing. Si vous aimez l’érotisme et les années folles, vous trouverez là votre bonheur.
http://www.blue-moon.fr/spip.php?arti...
Avis de Callixta
La romance historique a aussi ses auteures érotiques mais elles sont plus rares, surtout lorsqu’on sort des époques classiques. Cela rend le livre de Stephanie Draven d’autant plus intéressant puisqu’il se déroule entre 1928 et 1929 à Hollywood. Le roman est aussi original puisqu’il met en scène trois couples au cours de trois nouvelles. Attention, ils n’ont pas froid aux yeux et entre ménages à trois et recherche de la douleur/plaisir, le livre est très érotique.
Le grand plaisir est la reconstitution de cette période. Quelques romances sont déjà sorties sans doute encouragées par The Artist. Nous sommes en effet à Los Angeles, à Hollywood et pour une des héroïnes, dans le milieu du cinéma. La première nouvelle est en réalité la suite d’une histoire commencée dans un texte publié précédemment. Cela rend l’histoire un peu courte et donne une impression d’avoir manqué des éléments. Les protagonistes masculins sont tous présents au cours d’une soirée qui va les mettre en contact avec la femme de leur vie ou une partenaire clé.
Dans la première romance, nous découvrons un couple mal assorti composé de la fille d’un riche homme d’affaires qui, après une aventure avec son chauffeur , s’est retrouvée enceinte. Si le chauffeur s’est révélé un businessman averti, le mariage obligé qui en a découlé s’est mal passé et le couple est sur le point de se séparer. C’est un homme très important dans cette nouvelle qui est le héros de la nouvelle suivante, la plus longue et la plus fouillée qui rapproche un as de l’aviation, Leo et une star du cinéma Clara. Enfin c’est un ami très proche de Leo, Robert qui est le héros de la dernière histoire qui le met en présence d’une femme politiquement engagée et féministe.
Le choix de ces personnages et des histoires nous plonge directement dans l’époque concernée. La première nouvelle met l’accent sur les différences sociales qui commencent à ne plus être aussi marquées qu’avant. La seconde met en présence une sorte de Lindbergh, un pilote de guerre hors pair qui est maintenant au service d’essais d’aéroplanes et une actrice du muet qui n’hésite pas à passer derrière la caméra. Enfin, la dernière héroïne est fascinante dans son combat pour promouvoir les moyens de contraception dans un pays où ils sont alors interdits et de défendre les plus pauvres. Cela contribue à planter le décor et à nous montrer des personnages emblématiques et nouveaux.
Les trois histoires s’enchainent remarquablement dans une atmosphère érotique sophistiquée. Nos couples ont des désirs peu classiques, aiment la douleur, se montrer en public ou les ménages à trois. Malgré l’aspect osé du roman, l’histoire est remarquablement écrite, il n’y a pas l’ombre d’une vulgarité et leurs pratiques sexuelles sont profondément inscrites dans leur vie et leur comportement psychologique. Cela donne une lecture fascinante, profonde où rien n’est gratuit.
Les trois nouvelles sont inégales, la première est sans doute la moins convaincante à cause de son aspect rapide mais la seconde est remarquable avec une lente séduction de Clara par Leo, qui ne cède en rien et va aller au-delà des fragilités et des doutes que la jeune actrice a sur elle-même. Robert, leur partenaire, fils d’un ambassadeur aura à faire face à une passionaria adorable et qui aime les fessées. Cette troisième nouvelle tient aussi toutes ses promesses.
Voilà donc un recueil de nouvelles bien ficelées, osées, dans un contexte originale, écrit par une auteure à suivre. Vous l’avez peut-être déjà lu si vous aimez les Harlequin Nocturne. Elle a également commis une romance contemporaine chez Entangled Publishing. Si vous aimez l’érotisme et les années folles, vous trouverez là votre bonheur.
May 27, 2013
I am giving it 4.5 stars. It would get 5 stars if it lasted longer.
It Stings So Sweet is far from “sweet”. It is sexy as all get out and I loved every second of every story.
It Stings So Sweet has 3 stories all in one. Each story blends with each other with familiar characters from each story.
The setting is supposed to be set in the roaring twenties and the three women we read about are far from “sweet”. They are sexy and they don’t play by the rules.
The first story is titled, Love Me or Leave Me and you learn about Nora Richardson and her troubled marriage. She is raised to be a girl in the high society crowd, and she is torn between being a “good girl” or being herself. She is wild and free spirited and has a one night stand and winds up getting pregnant and has to marry the father of the baby. She loses the baby, but she does everything she can to keep her husband. Boy does she do everything. I don’t want to say to much more, I don’t want to give any spoilers. So I will leave it at that, other than to say there is some BDSM in this story and it makes you wonder (at least it did me) did they do that in the 20’s? Wow, it was a HOT story and I could have read more about Nora and her husband.
Then the second story is titled, When I’m Bad I’m Better. In this story you read about Clara Cartwright. She is an actress in the silent film industry and she is not shy about getting what she wants and doing what she needs to do to get it. She meets a WWI Flying American aviator at a party and there are HOT “sparks” between the two of them. When they are talking at the party, he asks if she is in love with the man hosting the party and her answer is “I don’t fall in love, Mr. Vanderberg. When I take a man to bed, it’s got everything to do with the size of his bank account and what he’s got between his legs.” When I read that line I said to myself, “I like this girl”. Leo Vanderberg does everything he can to get her to fall in love with him and tries to give her everything she desires, even if it pushes her further than she thought she would go, and she likes it. In this story there are hints of F/F/M and M/M/F.
And the third and final story is titled, Let’s Misbehave. In this story you meet Sophie O’Brien. She is a working class girl who works in the hotel that is run by Robert Aster. She has fantasies and writes them in her journal. She would love for her fantasies to come true, but until then, she just writes about them and feels they are safe in her journal, until her journal is found in her locker at work, and is called into Mr. Asters office. Sophie is embarrassed, but surprised when he dares her to re-enact one of her fantasies. It gets hot and steamy, and Robert realizes he needs Sophie as much as she needs him.
I enjoyed reading all three of the stories and loved how there was a lot of “taboo” subject matter in the stories, but there is also love and romance. Each story has emotional attachments and you feel for each character in the story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a “sizzling” read.
It Stings So Sweet is far from “sweet”. It is sexy as all get out and I loved every second of every story.
It Stings So Sweet has 3 stories all in one. Each story blends with each other with familiar characters from each story.
The setting is supposed to be set in the roaring twenties and the three women we read about are far from “sweet”. They are sexy and they don’t play by the rules.
The first story is titled, Love Me or Leave Me and you learn about Nora Richardson and her troubled marriage. She is raised to be a girl in the high society crowd, and she is torn between being a “good girl” or being herself. She is wild and free spirited and has a one night stand and winds up getting pregnant and has to marry the father of the baby. She loses the baby, but she does everything she can to keep her husband. Boy does she do everything. I don’t want to say to much more, I don’t want to give any spoilers. So I will leave it at that, other than to say there is some BDSM in this story and it makes you wonder (at least it did me) did they do that in the 20’s? Wow, it was a HOT story and I could have read more about Nora and her husband.
Then the second story is titled, When I’m Bad I’m Better. In this story you read about Clara Cartwright. She is an actress in the silent film industry and she is not shy about getting what she wants and doing what she needs to do to get it. She meets a WWI Flying American aviator at a party and there are HOT “sparks” between the two of them. When they are talking at the party, he asks if she is in love with the man hosting the party and her answer is “I don’t fall in love, Mr. Vanderberg. When I take a man to bed, it’s got everything to do with the size of his bank account and what he’s got between his legs.” When I read that line I said to myself, “I like this girl”. Leo Vanderberg does everything he can to get her to fall in love with him and tries to give her everything she desires, even if it pushes her further than she thought she would go, and she likes it. In this story there are hints of F/F/M and M/M/F.
And the third and final story is titled, Let’s Misbehave. In this story you meet Sophie O’Brien. She is a working class girl who works in the hotel that is run by Robert Aster. She has fantasies and writes them in her journal. She would love for her fantasies to come true, but until then, she just writes about them and feels they are safe in her journal, until her journal is found in her locker at work, and is called into Mr. Asters office. Sophie is embarrassed, but surprised when he dares her to re-enact one of her fantasies. It gets hot and steamy, and Robert realizes he needs Sophie as much as she needs him.
I enjoyed reading all three of the stories and loved how there was a lot of “taboo” subject matter in the stories, but there is also love and romance. Each story has emotional attachments and you feel for each character in the story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a “sizzling” read.
December 8, 2013
Well, where do I begin?
I'm not normally very good at writing reviews as I always tend to take a scholarly approach to them, so I'll just give this a blow for blow. I'm familiar with Stephanie Draven's work, and I have yet to find a book of hers that I don't adore! Her historical fiction is enthralling, and her romance is enticing. It Stings So Sweet is all of that... and she manages to capture an essence of sensuality that many writers seem to fail to grasp. Where others come across as clumsy and crude, Draven weaves these stories adeptly, and words everything just so. She has an amazing attention to detail that really manages to draw you into the character's minds. (There was one scene in which I got so incredibly frustrated I felt like I might start yelling at the pages, only to learn that the character was just as frustrated at that point as I was.)
The first story is "Love Me or Leave Me". It was the original story that inspired this collection, and it was a great way to start things off. Though the characters didn't have as much depth as the later stories, it certainly set the tone for the rest of the book.
It's followed by the second story, entitled "When I'm Bad, I'm Better". This was, frankly, my favorite. Everything about it from the story, the characters, and the scenery... I remember reading this one and feeling very refreshed and satisfied when I was done. It took me a few days to pick the book up again to finish the next part.
Part three, "Let's Misbehave" was a lot of fun, and it features some of the minor characters from the former stories, however this is the only part that I feel I needed to complain about. For all of my love of the final entry, I actually finished it off feeling that it was a little incomplete. The ending, when it arrived, felt rather abrupt, and not at all as satisfying as the endings in the other entries.
The issue, really, is that this final entry introduced characters that I really wanted to know about, I really wanted to know what was happening with them after it all happened. I mean, sure I've already imagined my own future for them, but head-cannon just isn't the same! Despite that one little setback (and really, if the only complaint I can muster is that I want more, it's really not much of a negative), this is one of the best books I've read this year. Five stars, and looking forward to more from Mrs. Draven! Now to read her alter-ego's new book "Daughters of the Nile"!
I'm not normally very good at writing reviews as I always tend to take a scholarly approach to them, so I'll just give this a blow for blow. I'm familiar with Stephanie Draven's work, and I have yet to find a book of hers that I don't adore! Her historical fiction is enthralling, and her romance is enticing. It Stings So Sweet is all of that... and she manages to capture an essence of sensuality that many writers seem to fail to grasp. Where others come across as clumsy and crude, Draven weaves these stories adeptly, and words everything just so. She has an amazing attention to detail that really manages to draw you into the character's minds. (There was one scene in which I got so incredibly frustrated I felt like I might start yelling at the pages, only to learn that the character was just as frustrated at that point as I was.)
The first story is "Love Me or Leave Me". It was the original story that inspired this collection, and it was a great way to start things off. Though the characters didn't have as much depth as the later stories, it certainly set the tone for the rest of the book.
It's followed by the second story, entitled "When I'm Bad, I'm Better". This was, frankly, my favorite. Everything about it from the story, the characters, and the scenery... I remember reading this one and feeling very refreshed and satisfied when I was done. It took me a few days to pick the book up again to finish the next part.
Part three, "Let's Misbehave" was a lot of fun, and it features some of the minor characters from the former stories, however this is the only part that I feel I needed to complain about. For all of my love of the final entry, I actually finished it off feeling that it was a little incomplete. The ending, when it arrived, felt rather abrupt, and not at all as satisfying as the endings in the other entries.
The issue, really, is that this final entry introduced characters that I really wanted to know about, I really wanted to know what was happening with them after it all happened. I mean, sure I've already imagined my own future for them, but head-cannon just isn't the same! Despite that one little setback (and really, if the only complaint I can muster is that I want more, it's really not much of a negative), this is one of the best books I've read this year. Five stars, and looking forward to more from Mrs. Draven! Now to read her alter-ego's new book "Daughters of the Nile"!
February 6, 2013
I got an early peek at this book because the author is a friend and I begged shamelessly for one of her early-author copies. Her alter-ego novels about Cleopatra's daughter Selene are great faves of mine, but I didn't know what to expect here because this was my first real dip into reading erotica. And with "It Stings So Sweet" I got the point of the genre: it's not just cover-to-cover bonking (or it shouldn't be). Yes, there is plenty of sex (and the sex here is both explicit and daring, so be warned) - but the sex is a vehicle to explore character growth and change. We are presented here with three interlocked couples, all with problems that extend far beyond the bedroom, and by the end they have all grown and changed in subtle, subtle ways.
We have society girl Nora and her working-class hubby; their marriage is on the rocks and divorce seems inevitable. Talking things out hasn't helped, and nor has being polite, so Nora and her guy decide to just let the anger out and see where it leads. It leads to cruel words and slaps and some rough sex, but the punishment here isn't used to degrade, but to forgive. For our next couple we have film-star Clara (a tip of the feathered hat to Clara Bow) and her adrenaline-junkie daredevil-pilot suitor Leo; this is my favorite couple, and their raunchy good fun is undercut tenderly by the wounds that this flashy self-confident pair carry on the inside. Finally we have suffragette Sophie attempting to carry her liberated ideals into the bedroom in an affair with the millionaire boss who stands for everything she hates - and he might be the teacher between the sheets, but she's got something to teach him when it comes to the bright new world of the 20s.
And it's the 20's setting that really makes these stories sing. This is "Chicago" on steroids: the beaded gowns, the smoky jazz, the bathtub gin, the pearls rolling around in the backseats of all those vintage coups - it's all real enough to taste. And you might come away with far more information than you think about this most decadent of decades: not just the jazz and the gin, but the silent movie industry and the burgeoning suffragette movement and the deep silent hangover from WWI. If you want to dip your toe into erotica, then put your feet up, get a long jade holder, mix a gin martini, and try this one out.
We have society girl Nora and her working-class hubby; their marriage is on the rocks and divorce seems inevitable. Talking things out hasn't helped, and nor has being polite, so Nora and her guy decide to just let the anger out and see where it leads. It leads to cruel words and slaps and some rough sex, but the punishment here isn't used to degrade, but to forgive. For our next couple we have film-star Clara (a tip of the feathered hat to Clara Bow) and her adrenaline-junkie daredevil-pilot suitor Leo; this is my favorite couple, and their raunchy good fun is undercut tenderly by the wounds that this flashy self-confident pair carry on the inside. Finally we have suffragette Sophie attempting to carry her liberated ideals into the bedroom in an affair with the millionaire boss who stands for everything she hates - and he might be the teacher between the sheets, but she's got something to teach him when it comes to the bright new world of the 20s.
And it's the 20's setting that really makes these stories sing. This is "Chicago" on steroids: the beaded gowns, the smoky jazz, the bathtub gin, the pearls rolling around in the backseats of all those vintage coups - it's all real enough to taste. And you might come away with far more information than you think about this most decadent of decades: not just the jazz and the gin, but the silent movie industry and the burgeoning suffragette movement and the deep silent hangover from WWI. If you want to dip your toe into erotica, then put your feet up, get a long jade holder, mix a gin martini, and try this one out.
February 21, 2013
*This review was first published at Book Savvy Babes Blog*
3.5 of 5 Stars
The “Roaring” twenties. Such an intriguing time period, and one I don’t often have the opportunity to read about. When the opportunity to read and review “It Stings So Sweet” came up, I was very curious and excited to read about the romance in this new-to-me setting. The book blurb doesn’t really do this book justice. I was pleasantly surprised to find It Stings So Sweet much more erotic than I had anticipated, and the characters more daring and sensual.
There are three parts to It Stings So Sweet, three separate stories that loosely tie together. Each of the stories focus on a couple and each couple has to come to accept their proclivities and sensuality to embrace each other and be together. The stories are all set in the nineteen twenties, where women were still repressed, but pushing for more freedom and acceptance. In the stories, the women learn to open more to their desires and natures, and their men help give them the push they need to accept those desires.
Each of the couple have their own proclivities and kinks, and all of those kinks push the boundaries of propriety. Each story is erotically charged and driven, but I was able to understand the characters and their motivations. I appreciate that Stephanie Draven wrote about characters from different class and society backgrounds, an heiress, a hollywood starlet, and a shop girl are the three main women. Each of the women have their own hurts and confines, but they each have needs that push their boundaries. Leo and Clara’s story really stood out for me. It felt the most developed of the three and is my favorite.
As I said earlier, It Stings So Sweet is erotically driven. It is a very hot read and I love the idea of the setting, but I could have used more plot to tie the story together and to understand the setting better. Erotic romance readers will likely enjoy It Stings So Sweet. The eroticism is balanced by the romance and the books is all together a really good read.
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review*
3.5 of 5 Stars
The “Roaring” twenties. Such an intriguing time period, and one I don’t often have the opportunity to read about. When the opportunity to read and review “It Stings So Sweet” came up, I was very curious and excited to read about the romance in this new-to-me setting. The book blurb doesn’t really do this book justice. I was pleasantly surprised to find It Stings So Sweet much more erotic than I had anticipated, and the characters more daring and sensual.
There are three parts to It Stings So Sweet, three separate stories that loosely tie together. Each of the stories focus on a couple and each couple has to come to accept their proclivities and sensuality to embrace each other and be together. The stories are all set in the nineteen twenties, where women were still repressed, but pushing for more freedom and acceptance. In the stories, the women learn to open more to their desires and natures, and their men help give them the push they need to accept those desires.
Each of the couple have their own proclivities and kinks, and all of those kinks push the boundaries of propriety. Each story is erotically charged and driven, but I was able to understand the characters and their motivations. I appreciate that Stephanie Draven wrote about characters from different class and society backgrounds, an heiress, a hollywood starlet, and a shop girl are the three main women. Each of the women have their own hurts and confines, but they each have needs that push their boundaries. Leo and Clara’s story really stood out for me. It felt the most developed of the three and is my favorite.
As I said earlier, It Stings So Sweet is erotically driven. It is a very hot read and I love the idea of the setting, but I could have used more plot to tie the story together and to understand the setting better. Erotic romance readers will likely enjoy It Stings So Sweet. The eroticism is balanced by the romance and the books is all together a really good read.
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review*
February 27, 2013
4.5 Stars
Review originally posted at Hesperia Loves Books
Historical Romance and I, usually don’t get along very well. Even though I know it’s an accurate portrayal of history, I don’t like the world and the roles that women were forced to take. After reading the blurb for It Stings So Sweet, I was very intrigued and excited to read a historical set in the 1920’s. Ms. Draven does a fantastic job in bringing this era to life and accurately depicting the plight of women’s independence in the roaring 20’s
After being drawn in by the absolutely amazing cover, I was extremely delighted to find three separate, but interwoven, stories within. I love books that, not only grab my interest from the first page, but maintain it throughout the entire book. It Stings So Sweet was no exception and, I was continuously propelled through its pages by fabulous writing, amazing & vibrant characters, beautiful love stories and spectacular erotica.
Each story introduces us to a couple who, through discovery, honesty & acceptance, learn to find happiness with themselves, and each other. By giving voice to their wants, needs, fears and fantasies, the women exert their new found independence without apology. Each heroine is strong and willing to fight for, and not be ashamed of, what she wants. I loved that Ms. Draven wrote their characters with such vivacity. Even though they have each suffered their own demons and struggle with repression, they won’t settle for what is expected of them.
Without question, It Stings So Sweet, is one of my favorite historical romance reads and one that, I’m sure you’ll love as well. It has just the perfect balance of love, sex and romance, mixed with well written storyline, to make an amazing and quick read. If you’re a fan of the Historical or Erotic Romance genre, this book is a must read!
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Review originally posted at Hesperia Loves Books
Historical Romance and I, usually don’t get along very well. Even though I know it’s an accurate portrayal of history, I don’t like the world and the roles that women were forced to take. After reading the blurb for It Stings So Sweet, I was very intrigued and excited to read a historical set in the 1920’s. Ms. Draven does a fantastic job in bringing this era to life and accurately depicting the plight of women’s independence in the roaring 20’s
After being drawn in by the absolutely amazing cover, I was extremely delighted to find three separate, but interwoven, stories within. I love books that, not only grab my interest from the first page, but maintain it throughout the entire book. It Stings So Sweet was no exception and, I was continuously propelled through its pages by fabulous writing, amazing & vibrant characters, beautiful love stories and spectacular erotica.
Each story introduces us to a couple who, through discovery, honesty & acceptance, learn to find happiness with themselves, and each other. By giving voice to their wants, needs, fears and fantasies, the women exert their new found independence without apology. Each heroine is strong and willing to fight for, and not be ashamed of, what she wants. I loved that Ms. Draven wrote their characters with such vivacity. Even though they have each suffered their own demons and struggle with repression, they won’t settle for what is expected of them.
Without question, It Stings So Sweet, is one of my favorite historical romance reads and one that, I’m sure you’ll love as well. It has just the perfect balance of love, sex and romance, mixed with well written storyline, to make an amazing and quick read. If you’re a fan of the Historical or Erotic Romance genre, this book is a must read!
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
March 2, 2013
First, love the cover. Second, I think Draven has some writing chops. The intertwining of the three stories was well done, and exceedingly clever.
As for the stories.....One and three were okay. I wasn't disturbed by the material on Love me or Leave Me, as it was consensual.
HOWEVER: When I'm Bad I'm Better was masterful. Draven clearly did her research on Clara Bow, and probably read the fantastic biography of Bow, IT. And in creating the homage character of Clara Cartwright, she did something very special. I would read a whole book on "this" Clara. She's fun, she's complicated, and she's non-apologetic for her sexual escapades. Yet she has an interesting past that informs her present. Oh, and her sex scenes were the best of all three stories.
I wished for a little more 1920s' verisimilitude, but overall, I was impressed and would buy this author's books again. Bravo for doing something different.
On another note, The Great Gatsby can't come out soon enough for me!
As for the stories.....One and three were okay. I wasn't disturbed by the material on Love me or Leave Me, as it was consensual.
HOWEVER: When I'm Bad I'm Better was masterful. Draven clearly did her research on Clara Bow, and probably read the fantastic biography of Bow, IT. And in creating the homage character of Clara Cartwright, she did something very special. I would read a whole book on "this" Clara. She's fun, she's complicated, and she's non-apologetic for her sexual escapades. Yet she has an interesting past that informs her present. Oh, and her sex scenes were the best of all three stories.
I wished for a little more 1920s' verisimilitude, but overall, I was impressed and would buy this author's books again. Bravo for doing something different.
On another note, The Great Gatsby can't come out soon enough for me!
May 1, 2014
"It Stings So Sweet" is a historical fiction erotica set during the Roaring 20s (was there really a hotter decade???). The book is broken up into three related stories of three women from very different places who all end up having amazing (and incredibly hot) love affairs. Oh my gosh, this book will definitely get your heart racing.
The book is really well written. There is a great storyline present, which was a bonus for me. A lot of times I feel like the focus in erotic novels is really on the erotica and there isn't much of a story otherwise. That is most definitely not the case for this book. You get a good story, good (and memorable) characters, AND a lot of romance and fantastic erotica. Draven definitely walks a line that few authors even get to and I loved it!
The book is really well written. There is a great storyline present, which was a bonus for me. A lot of times I feel like the focus in erotic novels is really on the erotica and there isn't much of a story otherwise. That is most definitely not the case for this book. You get a good story, good (and memorable) characters, AND a lot of romance and fantastic erotica. Draven definitely walks a line that few authors even get to and I loved it!
February 20, 2013
I felt like reading this book was a bonus three stories in one. The first story of Mr & Mrs. Richardson seems to be cut a bit short and I really didn't think I was going to like the way the book was going and thought to myself I'm not going to like it keep reading it and enjoyed it. All the characters in the stories came full circle. The ending what can I say totally Loved it the story takes place back in the twenties when their were Flappers and women had little say and birth control was seen as wrong just love being taken to a different time.
February 27, 2014
Oh so bad, but oh so good!
April 4, 2022
First-person present-tense usually makes me break out in hives, but goddamn it, Stephanie Draven, you got me with this one, despite that.
It is, quite frankly, a fucking shame this book doesn’t have more reviews, because it’s probably one of the best pieces of erotic romance to come out of the immediate post-50 Shades boom. Historical erotica (with an actual sense of the era, meaning it doesn’t come off as just 21st century characters in 1920s clothes), with solid plots, and genuine romantic chemistry? YES, PLEASE.
It’s true that I don’t go to romance novels for sex, but it’s also true that I love me some good plot-relevant sex—yanno, the kind of thing you couldn’t just substitute with a fade-to-black. Sex is, after all, an incredibly intimate act, and there’s good character and relationship work that can be done within the confines of it—which is one of the real benefits of erotica as a genre, I feel (it’s just that…most authors can’t seem to manage it well or at least not as well as I’d personally like). But Draven does such a good job tying the sex into these characters, and their psyches, and conflicts. It’s hot, yes, but it isn’t just hot—there’s also a real emotional depth to these stories, and I love that. It does get kind of dub-connish in a couple places (characters drinking), and I do wish we’d gotten a genuine case of the heroine being the dominant partner in the bedroom (there was a hint of it in the third story, with Sophie and Robert, but it unfortunately didn’t last), but it also seems a little churlish of me to complain about that (or else knock a star rating off for it) when I really did so thoroughly enjoy these outings. (And even the dub-connish elements, well, as previously established, I like it when things get a little dark in my fictional romances.)
So, in summary (and with apologies to Gordon Ramsay):
It is, quite frankly, a fucking shame this book doesn’t have more reviews, because it’s probably one of the best pieces of erotic romance to come out of the immediate post-50 Shades boom. Historical erotica (with an actual sense of the era, meaning it doesn’t come off as just 21st century characters in 1920s clothes), with solid plots, and genuine romantic chemistry? YES, PLEASE.
It’s true that I don’t go to romance novels for sex, but it’s also true that I love me some good plot-relevant sex—yanno, the kind of thing you couldn’t just substitute with a fade-to-black. Sex is, after all, an incredibly intimate act, and there’s good character and relationship work that can be done within the confines of it—which is one of the real benefits of erotica as a genre, I feel (it’s just that…most authors can’t seem to manage it well or at least not as well as I’d personally like). But Draven does such a good job tying the sex into these characters, and their psyches, and conflicts. It’s hot, yes, but it isn’t just hot—there’s also a real emotional depth to these stories, and I love that. It does get kind of dub-connish in a couple places (characters drinking), and I do wish we’d gotten a genuine case of the heroine being the dominant partner in the bedroom (there was a hint of it in the third story, with Sophie and Robert, but it unfortunately didn’t last), but it also seems a little churlish of me to complain about that (or else knock a star rating off for it) when I really did so thoroughly enjoy these outings. (And even the dub-connish elements, well, as previously established, I like it when things get a little dark in my fictional romances.)
So, in summary (and with apologies to Gordon Ramsay):
Read
September 4, 2024This mini-review is part of a list about Union organizers that can be read in full at The Smut Report
Sophie is a shopgirl in a fancy hotel; Robert is the manager, on behalf of his father, who owns it. Sophie is leading the charge for better working conditions—so when she gets sent to the boss’s office, she expects to be fired. Instead, she gets drawn into a game of erotic exploration. It Stings So Sweet is an erotic romance of three interconnected novellas (Robert shows up in all three of them) marketed as Fifty Shades of Grey meets The Great Gatsby (but sexier), so please prepare for some flappers getting spanked. But just because Sophie’s submitting in the bedroom doesn’t mean she’s ready to give up on her demands for better pay. Bonus points for Robert’s grand gesture of joining the picket line during a strike.
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Sophie is a shopgirl in a fancy hotel; Robert is the manager, on behalf of his father, who owns it. Sophie is leading the charge for better working conditions—so when she gets sent to the boss’s office, she expects to be fired. Instead, she gets drawn into a game of erotic exploration. It Stings So Sweet is an erotic romance of three interconnected novellas (Robert shows up in all three of them) marketed as Fifty Shades of Grey meets The Great Gatsby (but sexier), so please prepare for some flappers getting spanked. But just because Sophie’s submitting in the bedroom doesn’t mean she’s ready to give up on her demands for better pay. Bonus points for Robert’s grand gesture of joining the picket line during a strike.
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
January 17, 2022
WOWZA.
A 4 star WOWZA. This book has been on my tbr for a good 9 years. 9 frickin years and I cant believe this gem languished there so long or how it seemed to have been overlooked by people (feels that way to me)
this is hands down one of the sexiest, most erotic , sensuous and at the same time sweetest thing I have ever read ( and i have read a lot of erotica and sweetness combined).
The first 2 stories ,short they may be, but the emotions are High octane, the smut is high octane and the feels I got after them was high octane. The third story takes turn towards sweet and tender and erotic and that scene after the club... I mean, it's not even all that explicit or even hard core but DAYUM!
I really cannot choose between the couple. I just cant
A 4 star WOWZA. This book has been on my tbr for a good 9 years. 9 frickin years and I cant believe this gem languished there so long or how it seemed to have been overlooked by people (feels that way to me)
this is hands down one of the sexiest, most erotic , sensuous and at the same time sweetest thing I have ever read ( and i have read a lot of erotica and sweetness combined).
The first 2 stories ,short they may be, but the emotions are High octane, the smut is high octane and the feels I got after them was high octane. The third story takes turn towards sweet and tender and erotic and that scene after the club... I mean, it's not even all that explicit or even hard core but DAYUM!
I really cannot choose between the couple. I just cant
August 27, 2022
This book consists of three stories with a loose connection to each other. The title and cover give a good indication of it being erotica, and the stories don’t disappoint, if you like that kind of thing. Though it’s not my favorite genre, I don’t mind reading it, and this one is superb. Not only are the love scenes steamily erotic, they actually advance the story and show the couple’s growing personal relationship. A few of the sex acts, so graphically described, made me uncomfortable, but I guess some people really do like those things. I enjoyed the 1920s setting and the author’s use of period-appropriate dialogue and culture. The best thing about these stories was the plausibility of each relationship. The characters grew as they explored each other’s pleasures rather than simply falling for a really good time in bed.
September 18, 2014
Reviewed for Confessions From Romaholics
To see review at Confessions
Stephanie Draven has made me fall in love all over again with her writing, with this, her first novel release in the historical genre, It Stings So Sweet.
It Stings So Sweet is about three woman told in three tales as they explore their sexuality with willing partners and this book is smoking hot. The first story is Love Me and Leave Me. Love Me and Leave Me: the title tells it all. Jonathan and Nora were forced to marry after she became pregnant but she later miscarried and this brings the story to the present moment where they are together at a party. It happens to be their last night of being married because tomorrow Jonathan will no longer be Nora’s husband as he is furiously mad over a kiss with a man at the same party and he wants to understand.
Yes, Jonathan is a hot blooded male but he believes that there is something more than a simple kiss and like any hot blooded male, he thinks he overreacted. Now the whole party is becoming their playground as they work out Jonathan‘s sexual tensions and maybe rediscover why they got together in the first place.
This a typical rich girl falling rebelliously for daddy’s driver and she gets her way and gets him interested in her while she is drunk. However she is growing up and realises she wants to stay with Jonathan and his behaviour is exciting her and she wants to be very naughty so she submits herself to Jonathan and follows his commands leading to some encounters as they work out their problem in their own way. Despite the cliché, this tale is far from it, and if you like your hero to be dominate, then settle down and enjoy the ride.
5 couples
I’m Bad I’m Better follows Clara who was mentioned as being at the ‘Hollywood’ Party in the previous book. Clara is an actress and the book starts at the party where she is quizzed by another guest, Leo, who thinks she is having an affair with Teddy Morgan, the host of the party. I won’t ruin it as to whether or not she is sleeping with him but Leo wants her and he’s a determined man. Let the games begin! There’s a pattern forming here, it seems. Leo is a war hero and he is bold and tactless about sex because he wants one thing: Clara. Clara doesn’t hold back either, she has only one use for men and that attitude has gotten her to the top of the game. Match made in heaven here it seems, as they know how to rub each other the right way with their sexuality. The last tale was about encounters between an actual couple. Now in this tale, the first encounter involves another player as Leo wants to know exactly how Clara wants it so he knows exactly what to do and do it well. Typical male macho and I am getting excited here about what is about to come next in this read and then I’m surprised when the story takes a complete different turn.
Clara goes to the man in question, who is her current interest and I love his description of Nora ‘That Vamp Mrs. Richardson was like a cat in heat’. But little does she know that she will be outplayed by Leo who has a secret or two trick up his sleeve to win Clara and make her happy; tricks involving a picnic, a film and another man. Despite Clara’s outwardly appearance you can’t help feel a little sorry for her as you discover her past. Leo, on the other hand, I almost want to call him an arrogant bastard but he truly loves Clara so I won’t but he will get on your nerves.
5 couples.
Now the last tale in the collection is Let’s Misbehave featuring Sophie O’Brien, a working class girl, who works for the Astor Hotel in its boutique. She’s a bit of a troublemaker in the good sense as she fights for woman’s rights, as the women employees are paid less than the men. Her friend is pregnant and has been thrown out of her job because she is unwed. So it’s only a matter of time before she is called to the boss’ office.
Robert Astor is the younger son of the hotel’s owner and he is a playboy, he was featured in the previous two tales as a friend and former fiancé of the couples. We got to know him a little bit but we don’t know what he really wants. All we know he has a voracious sexual appetite. Now we discover Robert is the boss of the hotel and he has called Sophie into his office because her supervisor has complained. Little does Sophie know what Robert knows about her and it is something right up his alley. Sophie has been keeping a journal at work with all her secret desires because she doesn’t want her roommates to find out. Her supervisor went through her locker because she believes that Sophie is planning a protest and now Robert has hold of the book.
Robert, being the man that he is, takes the opportunity to exploit the moment as Sophie is a beautiful woman and her penned desires are really naughty and he wants to be the man fulfilling them. However, they are from two different worlds and Robert is under pressure from his father and Sophie has got her causes. Let the tempting begin as Draven ends the novel with a tale that gets naughtier than the other two with desires that will shock you as you don’t see what’s coming as these two set the town alight and set tongues wagging.
5 couples
Draven doesn’t disappoint with this novel, the three tales are hot and wasn’t what I was expecting in a good way. Therefore I have to get it 5 couples; this historical novel is something for those who love historical with a bit of spice and not for the faint hearted. Nora’s story is shorter than the other two but she is mentioned in the other two as all the stories inter-relate in a clever way.
To see review at Confessions
Stephanie Draven has made me fall in love all over again with her writing, with this, her first novel release in the historical genre, It Stings So Sweet.
It Stings So Sweet is about three woman told in three tales as they explore their sexuality with willing partners and this book is smoking hot. The first story is Love Me and Leave Me. Love Me and Leave Me: the title tells it all. Jonathan and Nora were forced to marry after she became pregnant but she later miscarried and this brings the story to the present moment where they are together at a party. It happens to be their last night of being married because tomorrow Jonathan will no longer be Nora’s husband as he is furiously mad over a kiss with a man at the same party and he wants to understand.
Yes, Jonathan is a hot blooded male but he believes that there is something more than a simple kiss and like any hot blooded male, he thinks he overreacted. Now the whole party is becoming their playground as they work out Jonathan‘s sexual tensions and maybe rediscover why they got together in the first place.
This a typical rich girl falling rebelliously for daddy’s driver and she gets her way and gets him interested in her while she is drunk. However she is growing up and realises she wants to stay with Jonathan and his behaviour is exciting her and she wants to be very naughty so she submits herself to Jonathan and follows his commands leading to some encounters as they work out their problem in their own way. Despite the cliché, this tale is far from it, and if you like your hero to be dominate, then settle down and enjoy the ride.
5 couples
I’m Bad I’m Better follows Clara who was mentioned as being at the ‘Hollywood’ Party in the previous book. Clara is an actress and the book starts at the party where she is quizzed by another guest, Leo, who thinks she is having an affair with Teddy Morgan, the host of the party. I won’t ruin it as to whether or not she is sleeping with him but Leo wants her and he’s a determined man. Let the games begin! There’s a pattern forming here, it seems. Leo is a war hero and he is bold and tactless about sex because he wants one thing: Clara. Clara doesn’t hold back either, she has only one use for men and that attitude has gotten her to the top of the game. Match made in heaven here it seems, as they know how to rub each other the right way with their sexuality. The last tale was about encounters between an actual couple. Now in this tale, the first encounter involves another player as Leo wants to know exactly how Clara wants it so he knows exactly what to do and do it well. Typical male macho and I am getting excited here about what is about to come next in this read and then I’m surprised when the story takes a complete different turn.
Clara goes to the man in question, who is her current interest and I love his description of Nora ‘That Vamp Mrs. Richardson was like a cat in heat’. But little does she know that she will be outplayed by Leo who has a secret or two trick up his sleeve to win Clara and make her happy; tricks involving a picnic, a film and another man. Despite Clara’s outwardly appearance you can’t help feel a little sorry for her as you discover her past. Leo, on the other hand, I almost want to call him an arrogant bastard but he truly loves Clara so I won’t but he will get on your nerves.
5 couples.
Now the last tale in the collection is Let’s Misbehave featuring Sophie O’Brien, a working class girl, who works for the Astor Hotel in its boutique. She’s a bit of a troublemaker in the good sense as she fights for woman’s rights, as the women employees are paid less than the men. Her friend is pregnant and has been thrown out of her job because she is unwed. So it’s only a matter of time before she is called to the boss’ office.
Robert Astor is the younger son of the hotel’s owner and he is a playboy, he was featured in the previous two tales as a friend and former fiancé of the couples. We got to know him a little bit but we don’t know what he really wants. All we know he has a voracious sexual appetite. Now we discover Robert is the boss of the hotel and he has called Sophie into his office because her supervisor has complained. Little does Sophie know what Robert knows about her and it is something right up his alley. Sophie has been keeping a journal at work with all her secret desires because she doesn’t want her roommates to find out. Her supervisor went through her locker because she believes that Sophie is planning a protest and now Robert has hold of the book.
Robert, being the man that he is, takes the opportunity to exploit the moment as Sophie is a beautiful woman and her penned desires are really naughty and he wants to be the man fulfilling them. However, they are from two different worlds and Robert is under pressure from his father and Sophie has got her causes. Let the tempting begin as Draven ends the novel with a tale that gets naughtier than the other two with desires that will shock you as you don’t see what’s coming as these two set the town alight and set tongues wagging.
5 couples
Draven doesn’t disappoint with this novel, the three tales are hot and wasn’t what I was expecting in a good way. Therefore I have to get it 5 couples; this historical novel is something for those who love historical with a bit of spice and not for the faint hearted. Nora’s story is shorter than the other two but she is mentioned in the other two as all the stories inter-relate in a clever way.
February 12, 2013
This book was provided to me by the publisher for an honest review at SeductiveMusings.blogspot.com.
Stephanie Draven is a new author for me, but after reading It Stings So Sweet, I know I’ll be seeking out more books by her. She writes so beautifully and sets the scene so precisely that I was captivated by the opening pages before anything had actually happened. What did happen after those opening pages was told so well that I actually went back and read the whole book through again the next day, just so I could be a part of that world one more time.
Each story in It Stings So Sweet features a non-traditional couple who meet in an unconventional way to find that they are supremely sexually compatible by daring means. These adjectives are fitting, since they also describe the Roaring Twenties era itself: non-traditional, unconventional, daring. Social and sexual barriers were being tested and those with the courage to go after the happiness they sought were the most daring of them all.
With his dark hair slicked back and the lightest hint of a mustache over his full, brooding lips, he is the most striking man in this or any room. He is also my husband, or at least he will be, until morning.
In the first story, Nora and Jonathan Richardson have been married for over a year, but not happily. They had married under duress and he was well beneath her social class, which never bothered her but bothered him every single day. Jonathan tried changing himself entirely to be the husband he thought she should have, not realizing that what she wanted was what he had been. When Nora finally provokes him into action, the results upset more than just the fancy Hollywood party they attend together the night before Jonathan has promised to walk out on her for good. What happens after they return home may be extremely difficult for some to read, but to me it worked perfectly for their characters and made their final decision even more deliciously emotional.
“I don’t fall in love, Mr. Vanderberg. When I take a man to bed, it’s got everything to do with the size of his bank account and what he’s got between his legs.”
In the second story, Clara Cartwright is the biggest silent film star in Hollywood and temporary mistress of a man guaranteed not to fall in love with her. After her movie premiere party is nearly ruined by another couple’s marital upset, she is introduced to Leo Vanderberg, a genuine World War One flying ace and compellingly attractive man with definite plans for Clara. Clara prefers to keep her relationships light, financially rewarding and temporary. Leo intends to be the man who breaks all three of her rules. The provocative ways he breaks through her walls of cynicism and doubt belie the deep emotions he hides from her until she’s ready to admit to hers.
The sudden brutal exposure of my forbidden thoughts cuts me open with desire. I’m bleeding embarrassment and arousal in equal measure.
The final story is about how a slight but tenacious Irish shopgirl not only manages to organize her fellow workers into taking on the fancy hotel’s management for better treatment while at the same time catching the eye and ultimately, the heart of the hotel chain’s heir. If only Sophie hadn’t left her journal of extreme sexual fantasies in the same work locker with her incendiary unionizing materials, that man would have never been able to get her naked...and worse! But both she and he have denied their true sexual natures long enough, and it’s time they realized what they can do for themselves and each other, social classes and expectations be damned.
What makes It Stings So Sweet different from so many other romances I’ve read isn’t just the quality of the author’s writing, but the decisions she’s made on how when to set the story and how to structure the plot. I can’t recall having read any other historical erotic romances set in the Roaring Twenties, let alone those with any noticeable elements of BDSM in them. And although there have been a few anthologies out lately where three authors collaborate to provide an interlocking story arc between three or more segments, this book features the same type of story structure from a single author. All three couples either appear or are mentioned in each of the three stories, with one notable individual appearing in all three. I don’t want to be more specific than that because I know I enjoyed the surprise and I wouldn’t want to ruin that for anyone else.
Each couple faces more than just their own weaknesses and misunderstandings to get to their happy ending. They have to rise beyond an antiquated but still constrictive social class structure, as well as regressive ideas of how men and women should behave - most especially women - and what society thinks of people who live and love outside their predestined boxes. Ultimately love is what brings each of the couples together and each happy ending is all the sweeter for the trouble they went through to get there.
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read It Stings So Sweet and I hope that Stephanie Draven will continue to choose the unconventional settings and non-traditional storylines for her daring characters. This was easily the best book I’ve read so far this year.
Ratings:
Overall: 5
Sensuality level: 5 (domestic discipline, public sex, M/F/M menage, one F/F scene)
Stephanie Draven is a new author for me, but after reading It Stings So Sweet, I know I’ll be seeking out more books by her. She writes so beautifully and sets the scene so precisely that I was captivated by the opening pages before anything had actually happened. What did happen after those opening pages was told so well that I actually went back and read the whole book through again the next day, just so I could be a part of that world one more time.
Each story in It Stings So Sweet features a non-traditional couple who meet in an unconventional way to find that they are supremely sexually compatible by daring means. These adjectives are fitting, since they also describe the Roaring Twenties era itself: non-traditional, unconventional, daring. Social and sexual barriers were being tested and those with the courage to go after the happiness they sought were the most daring of them all.
With his dark hair slicked back and the lightest hint of a mustache over his full, brooding lips, he is the most striking man in this or any room. He is also my husband, or at least he will be, until morning.
In the first story, Nora and Jonathan Richardson have been married for over a year, but not happily. They had married under duress and he was well beneath her social class, which never bothered her but bothered him every single day. Jonathan tried changing himself entirely to be the husband he thought she should have, not realizing that what she wanted was what he had been. When Nora finally provokes him into action, the results upset more than just the fancy Hollywood party they attend together the night before Jonathan has promised to walk out on her for good. What happens after they return home may be extremely difficult for some to read, but to me it worked perfectly for their characters and made their final decision even more deliciously emotional.
“I don’t fall in love, Mr. Vanderberg. When I take a man to bed, it’s got everything to do with the size of his bank account and what he’s got between his legs.”
In the second story, Clara Cartwright is the biggest silent film star in Hollywood and temporary mistress of a man guaranteed not to fall in love with her. After her movie premiere party is nearly ruined by another couple’s marital upset, she is introduced to Leo Vanderberg, a genuine World War One flying ace and compellingly attractive man with definite plans for Clara. Clara prefers to keep her relationships light, financially rewarding and temporary. Leo intends to be the man who breaks all three of her rules. The provocative ways he breaks through her walls of cynicism and doubt belie the deep emotions he hides from her until she’s ready to admit to hers.
The sudden brutal exposure of my forbidden thoughts cuts me open with desire. I’m bleeding embarrassment and arousal in equal measure.
The final story is about how a slight but tenacious Irish shopgirl not only manages to organize her fellow workers into taking on the fancy hotel’s management for better treatment while at the same time catching the eye and ultimately, the heart of the hotel chain’s heir. If only Sophie hadn’t left her journal of extreme sexual fantasies in the same work locker with her incendiary unionizing materials, that man would have never been able to get her naked...and worse! But both she and he have denied their true sexual natures long enough, and it’s time they realized what they can do for themselves and each other, social classes and expectations be damned.
What makes It Stings So Sweet different from so many other romances I’ve read isn’t just the quality of the author’s writing, but the decisions she’s made on how when to set the story and how to structure the plot. I can’t recall having read any other historical erotic romances set in the Roaring Twenties, let alone those with any noticeable elements of BDSM in them. And although there have been a few anthologies out lately where three authors collaborate to provide an interlocking story arc between three or more segments, this book features the same type of story structure from a single author. All three couples either appear or are mentioned in each of the three stories, with one notable individual appearing in all three. I don’t want to be more specific than that because I know I enjoyed the surprise and I wouldn’t want to ruin that for anyone else.
Each couple faces more than just their own weaknesses and misunderstandings to get to their happy ending. They have to rise beyond an antiquated but still constrictive social class structure, as well as regressive ideas of how men and women should behave - most especially women - and what society thinks of people who live and love outside their predestined boxes. Ultimately love is what brings each of the couples together and each happy ending is all the sweeter for the trouble they went through to get there.
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read It Stings So Sweet and I hope that Stephanie Draven will continue to choose the unconventional settings and non-traditional storylines for her daring characters. This was easily the best book I’ve read so far this year.
Ratings:
Overall: 5
Sensuality level: 5 (domestic discipline, public sex, M/F/M menage, one F/F scene)
September 24, 2018
Wow. This book caught me off guard. After finishing two books in another series in two days, I was looking for something to shake it up. Boy did I find that! I really liked this author's style of writing. The dialogue was good the characters were fun, and the sex was hot! The book is a compilation of three stories that are sort of intertwined, and they got better as the book went on. The first one was good but my least favorite of the three. This was a fast easy fun read!
June 28, 2018
Loved the time period. Love all the stories.
December 31, 2014
Reading a new author can often be a challenge as you try to understand their writing style as well as the story they are telling. This can mean you may not enjoy the book at first, but I had no such difficulty with my first read of this author, her style was so like my own. Some readers may find the fact that this book is actually three novellas off-putting as just as you get caught up with one set of characters, their story ends and the next begins, but all save one of the main characters do have a connection to a single night.
The first story 'Love Me Or Leave Me' opens with a glitzy, roaring 20's party given in honor of silent screen siren Clara Cartwright by her wealthy, married lover 'Big' Teddy Morgan. Only the crumbling marriage of guests Nora and Jonathan Richardson erupts into a brawl and turns the party into a memorable scandal. Their marriage had been distant for sometime, But when Nora confesses she had recently let another man kiss her, Richardson informs Nora just before the party that he would be leaving her, so she sets out to try to make him jealous in a last ditch effort to hold onto him. When the fiance that Nora had thrown over (wealthy Robert Astor) to marry Richardson (her father's chauffeur) approaches her, and Richardson realizes that Astor was the man she had kissed, there is a brawl and then he hauls his wife away from Astor into the nearby study, locks the door behind them. What happens behind this locked door, and the scandal caused when Astor and Morgan break down the door, and the rest of Nora and Jonathan's tale I'll leave it to other readers to discover for themselves. I'll just say it is passionately hot as they discover they both want to indulge in BDSM.
The second story 'When I'm Bad I'm Better' starts back at the party just after the Richardson's have departed, when a handsome stranger lights Clara Cartwright's cigarette as he asks if she is having an affair with Morgan. They flirt and banter back and forth for a few moments, when Morgan approaches and introduces the stranger to her as WWI flying ace Leo Vandenberg. Morgan bankrolls Clara's films and employs Leo as test pilot for new aircraft built by his company. This, the longest of the three, was my favorite of the stories; it has layers and quick witted dialogue and is incredibly seductive, as a threesome develops, not between Clara, Leo and Morgan, but Clara, Leo and Astor (who is Leo's best friend).
The last story 'Let's Misbehave' is the only one that hasn't a connection to that infamous party other than Robert Astor was there. Astor's wealthy father has been riding him to return to run the family business and stop being a do-nothing playboy. And Astor has been feeling the odd one out in his relationship with Clara and Leo, so he returns to New York to manage the Astor Hotel and is soon bored out of his mind. Then a busy-body crone of a supervisor raids the locker of employee Sophie O'Brian whom she suspects as a labor agitator and turns over the contents, including Sophie's journal to Astor. What Astor finds in the pages of her journal are not her thoughts on labor unions or anarchy (though Sophie is in favor of both) but her sexual fantasies. Story after story of her sexual imagination and he is intrigued.
When Sophie is called to Astor's office, she thinks she's being sacked for her secret organizing of a union and is ready to give him an earful when he upbraids her. He confronts her with an Upton Sinclair book and a birth control pamphlet found in her locker. He questions her about her views on birth control and sex for pleasure rather than procreation and then confronts her with her journal. She denies the journal is her own, that it belongs to a friend, and asks for it so she can return it to the owner. Only Astor says he thinks he should be the one to return it to the rightful owner and asks her to arrange a meeting with him for her friend because the contents are of such a personal nature. The conversational dance that Astor instigates to get Sophie to admit the journal is her own is the start of his seduction of this 'unconventional' girl. He then turns very frank about his intentions and reaches in his desk to produce a stack of sealed cream-colored envelopes that he stacks in the middle of his desk, and she knows exactly what they will contain for one of her stories involved a woman receiving anonymous cream-colored letters and within each one was a command to explore her sexuality and take ever more scandalous risks. And so their game begins as he reveals that only the writer of the journal will be allowed to open the envelopes to learn what he has written on each one. Sophie's fantasy come to life is too great a temptation so she acquiesces entirely to Astor and the sparks fly for the rest of their tale.
Draven's stories and characters are imaginative, as they are sensual and I thoroughly enjoyed this sweetness with a sting.
The first story 'Love Me Or Leave Me' opens with a glitzy, roaring 20's party given in honor of silent screen siren Clara Cartwright by her wealthy, married lover 'Big' Teddy Morgan. Only the crumbling marriage of guests Nora and Jonathan Richardson erupts into a brawl and turns the party into a memorable scandal. Their marriage had been distant for sometime, But when Nora confesses she had recently let another man kiss her, Richardson informs Nora just before the party that he would be leaving her, so she sets out to try to make him jealous in a last ditch effort to hold onto him. When the fiance that Nora had thrown over (wealthy Robert Astor) to marry Richardson (her father's chauffeur) approaches her, and Richardson realizes that Astor was the man she had kissed, there is a brawl and then he hauls his wife away from Astor into the nearby study, locks the door behind them. What happens behind this locked door, and the scandal caused when Astor and Morgan break down the door, and the rest of Nora and Jonathan's tale I'll leave it to other readers to discover for themselves. I'll just say it is passionately hot as they discover they both want to indulge in BDSM.
The second story 'When I'm Bad I'm Better' starts back at the party just after the Richardson's have departed, when a handsome stranger lights Clara Cartwright's cigarette as he asks if she is having an affair with Morgan. They flirt and banter back and forth for a few moments, when Morgan approaches and introduces the stranger to her as WWI flying ace Leo Vandenberg. Morgan bankrolls Clara's films and employs Leo as test pilot for new aircraft built by his company. This, the longest of the three, was my favorite of the stories; it has layers and quick witted dialogue and is incredibly seductive, as a threesome develops, not between Clara, Leo and Morgan, but Clara, Leo and Astor (who is Leo's best friend).
The last story 'Let's Misbehave' is the only one that hasn't a connection to that infamous party other than Robert Astor was there. Astor's wealthy father has been riding him to return to run the family business and stop being a do-nothing playboy. And Astor has been feeling the odd one out in his relationship with Clara and Leo, so he returns to New York to manage the Astor Hotel and is soon bored out of his mind. Then a busy-body crone of a supervisor raids the locker of employee Sophie O'Brian whom she suspects as a labor agitator and turns over the contents, including Sophie's journal to Astor. What Astor finds in the pages of her journal are not her thoughts on labor unions or anarchy (though Sophie is in favor of both) but her sexual fantasies. Story after story of her sexual imagination and he is intrigued.
When Sophie is called to Astor's office, she thinks she's being sacked for her secret organizing of a union and is ready to give him an earful when he upbraids her. He confronts her with an Upton Sinclair book and a birth control pamphlet found in her locker. He questions her about her views on birth control and sex for pleasure rather than procreation and then confronts her with her journal. She denies the journal is her own, that it belongs to a friend, and asks for it so she can return it to the owner. Only Astor says he thinks he should be the one to return it to the rightful owner and asks her to arrange a meeting with him for her friend because the contents are of such a personal nature. The conversational dance that Astor instigates to get Sophie to admit the journal is her own is the start of his seduction of this 'unconventional' girl. He then turns very frank about his intentions and reaches in his desk to produce a stack of sealed cream-colored envelopes that he stacks in the middle of his desk, and she knows exactly what they will contain for one of her stories involved a woman receiving anonymous cream-colored letters and within each one was a command to explore her sexuality and take ever more scandalous risks. And so their game begins as he reveals that only the writer of the journal will be allowed to open the envelopes to learn what he has written on each one. Sophie's fantasy come to life is too great a temptation so she acquiesces entirely to Astor and the sparks fly for the rest of their tale.
Draven's stories and characters are imaginative, as they are sensual and I thoroughly enjoyed this sweetness with a sting.
July 22, 2013
Title:
Author:
Genre: 1920's Historical
They vibrated with incendiary Jazz. They teemed with sexual abandon.
The Twenties were roaring and the women—young, open, rebellious, and willing—set the pace and pushed the limits with every man they met… In the aftermath of a wild, liquor-soaked party, three women from very different social classes are about to live out their forbidden desires.
Society girl, Nora Richardson's passionate nature has always been a challenge to her ever-patient husband. Now he wants out of the marriage and she has just this one night to win him back. The catch? He wants to punish her for her bad behavior. Nora is offended by her husband's increasingly depraved demands, but as the night unfolds, she discovers her own true nature and that the line between pain and pleasure is very thin indeed.
Meanwhile, Clara Cartwright, sultry siren of the silent screen, is introduced to a mysterious WWI Flying Ace. If Clara, darling of the scandal sheets, knows anything, it’s men. And she’s known plenty. But none of them push her boundaries like the aviator, who lures her into a ménage with a stranger in a darkened cinema then steals her jaded heart.
Working class girl Sophie O'Brien has more important things on her mind than pleasures of the flesh. But when her playboy boss, the wealthy heir to the Aster family fortune, confronts her with her diary of secret sex fantasies, she could die of shame. To her surprise, he doesn't fire her; instead, he dares her to re-enact her boldest fantasies and Sophie is utterly seduced.
One party serves as a catalyst of sexual awakening. And in an age when anything goes, three women discover that anything is possible…
I have always been fascinated by the Roaring 20's so when I go this book I was super excited to start it. From the first page I knew it was going to be a hard read for me as I don't typically like first person stories.
It took me a while to get into the story because things just kept throwing me out of the story. The major one being all of the 20's vocabulary. Some of it we know because of movies and pop culture but there was a lot that I didn't know. I am also not a fan of wish washy heroes and heroines. And two of the stories had this problem.
Nora's story just about drove me insane. I can honestly say there wasn't much I liked about this story. It wasn't until almost of the end of the story that I liked the husband. He comes across as a jerk for a good 3/4 of the book. Nora wasn't much better, with letting Daddy control everything. When Nora finally confronts her husband about what is wrong in their marriage I began to like this story. And while I didn't exactly love the ending it was a good ending.
Clara's story is by far my favorite story in this book. Clara makes no apologies for who she is. You can either like her or hate her. When she meets Flying Ace Leo she meets the one person she can't control, and while that scares her it also excites her. As Clara and Leo discover each other and the passion they have for each other. I loved how Leo knew exactly how and when to push Clara. And when Clara realized her feelings for Leo and how she reacted was perfect for them.
Sophie's story started out great I was loving her and Robert, partially because we got to meet Robert in Clara's story and he plays a part in their relationship. I had really high hopes for his story BECAUSE Clara and Leo's story was so good. It was going really good and then Sophie became really wish washy. She started out very strong and I was enjoying her, especially as she was so forward thinking and progressive and then she ruined it all when she became wish washy. And then when she turned down Robert's proposal. I understand it was for conflict reasons but I think the same thing could have been accomplished in a much different way that paint Robert in such an ugly light. He was a true hero and she made him seem less of one because he wasn't who SHE wanted him to be.
There was so much potential in this book and I was really hoping to love it and like I said I think the Roaring 20's was fascinating and full of great potential in regards to romance stories, but this book fell off the mark for me. I think if it had just been Clara and Leo's story and a side story of Robert I would have liked it so much better. I felt the first story wasn't really needed at all, other than to introduce Robert and that could have been done in Clara and Leo's story.
Grade B
Review by: Heather
http://www.thebookreadinggals.com
Author:
Genre: 1920's Historical
They vibrated with incendiary Jazz. They teemed with sexual abandon.
The Twenties were roaring and the women—young, open, rebellious, and willing—set the pace and pushed the limits with every man they met… In the aftermath of a wild, liquor-soaked party, three women from very different social classes are about to live out their forbidden desires.
Society girl, Nora Richardson's passionate nature has always been a challenge to her ever-patient husband. Now he wants out of the marriage and she has just this one night to win him back. The catch? He wants to punish her for her bad behavior. Nora is offended by her husband's increasingly depraved demands, but as the night unfolds, she discovers her own true nature and that the line between pain and pleasure is very thin indeed.
Meanwhile, Clara Cartwright, sultry siren of the silent screen, is introduced to a mysterious WWI Flying Ace. If Clara, darling of the scandal sheets, knows anything, it’s men. And she’s known plenty. But none of them push her boundaries like the aviator, who lures her into a ménage with a stranger in a darkened cinema then steals her jaded heart.
Working class girl Sophie O'Brien has more important things on her mind than pleasures of the flesh. But when her playboy boss, the wealthy heir to the Aster family fortune, confronts her with her diary of secret sex fantasies, she could die of shame. To her surprise, he doesn't fire her; instead, he dares her to re-enact her boldest fantasies and Sophie is utterly seduced.
One party serves as a catalyst of sexual awakening. And in an age when anything goes, three women discover that anything is possible…
I have always been fascinated by the Roaring 20's so when I go this book I was super excited to start it. From the first page I knew it was going to be a hard read for me as I don't typically like first person stories.
It took me a while to get into the story because things just kept throwing me out of the story. The major one being all of the 20's vocabulary. Some of it we know because of movies and pop culture but there was a lot that I didn't know. I am also not a fan of wish washy heroes and heroines. And two of the stories had this problem.
Nora's story just about drove me insane. I can honestly say there wasn't much I liked about this story. It wasn't until almost of the end of the story that I liked the husband. He comes across as a jerk for a good 3/4 of the book. Nora wasn't much better, with letting Daddy control everything. When Nora finally confronts her husband about what is wrong in their marriage I began to like this story. And while I didn't exactly love the ending it was a good ending.
Clara's story is by far my favorite story in this book. Clara makes no apologies for who she is. You can either like her or hate her. When she meets Flying Ace Leo she meets the one person she can't control, and while that scares her it also excites her. As Clara and Leo discover each other and the passion they have for each other. I loved how Leo knew exactly how and when to push Clara. And when Clara realized her feelings for Leo and how she reacted was perfect for them.
Sophie's story started out great I was loving her and Robert, partially because we got to meet Robert in Clara's story and he plays a part in their relationship. I had really high hopes for his story BECAUSE Clara and Leo's story was so good. It was going really good and then Sophie became really wish washy. She started out very strong and I was enjoying her, especially as she was so forward thinking and progressive and then she ruined it all when she became wish washy. And then when she turned down Robert's proposal. I understand it was for conflict reasons but I think the same thing could have been accomplished in a much different way that paint Robert in such an ugly light. He was a true hero and she made him seem less of one because he wasn't who SHE wanted him to be.
There was so much potential in this book and I was really hoping to love it and like I said I think the Roaring 20's was fascinating and full of great potential in regards to romance stories, but this book fell off the mark for me. I think if it had just been Clara and Leo's story and a side story of Robert I would have liked it so much better. I felt the first story wasn't really needed at all, other than to introduce Robert and that could have been done in Clara and Leo's story.
Grade B
Review by: Heather
http://www.thebookreadinggals.com
July 22, 2018
Review also posted on Book Lovin' Mamas
I first noticed this book on Amazon one day underneath my recommendations and decided to place it on my Wish List. I have always loved the 1920s and the description of this book, as well as the cover, had me already ready to buy it when it released. I was contacted by Stephanie's assistant in January to read the book early and review it. I definitely could not pass it up since the book was on the top of my Wish List so I did not miss out on buying it.
Stephanie Draven not only dived me into the Roaring 1920's with flappers, prohibition, and women's suffrage...but she brought me into a world of 20's erotica that includes BDSM, menage, and scandals.
Three different stories, but each has a connection with each other, which made me love this book even more. I believe more authors should do this kind of writing style. It made everything fall into place and took me into other's people's heads during each story.
The first story, Leave Me or Love Me, is about Nora Richardson and how her husband is going to leave her due to what she did with another man. She will stop at anything to win him back and have him with her forever. She'll even discover things about herself, she never knew she enjoyed. She'll even discover what her husband always wanted from her. This story definitely takes you out of your comfort zone and what Nora endures with her husband. He puts her in certain scenarios that would make women cringe, feel embarrass, or leave their husbands for. Instead, Nora is a strong-willed wife that will please her husband and spite her father, just to prove to her husband she loves him.
The second story, When I'm Bad I'm Better, is about the famous actress, Clara Cartwright, who has never fallen in love. Until, she meets a stranger one night, who has something of hers that could hurt her career. The stranger is about to reveal the real Clara and what she is capable of doing. He'll push her to new boundaries, she never thought she would enjoy, until the stranger introduces her to his best friend. This story leads you into a menage story where Clara is about to be devoured by two handsome guys, but only one will steal her heart permanently and change her for the better.
The last story, Let's Misbehave, is about the working girl Sophie O'Brien, who works at the hotel run by Robert Aster. He is introduced several times in this book. Sophie never thought her fantasies would come true until she is called into her boss's office to discuss the journal that was found in her locker. He wants to make her journal fantasies come alive. In the meantime though, she may be over her head with Robert. Robert also may be over his head...but both are going to find out how much they really need each other in their lives.
I enjoyed all three stories and also enjoyed being taken back in the past with certain historical elements that definitely have intrigued me since I studied the Roarin' Twenties in school. Stephanie Draven did an amazing job on putting everything together and making it feel like I was taken back in that era with her characters.
Each story gets you out of your comfort zone, and Stephanie Draven makes each story more erotic it seems. ( at least in my opinion it was....one of my fave scenes is in the last story....let's just say it involves restraining an individual) =)
This book includes elements of BDSM, menage, and several other elements that you will have to read to find out.
If you love historical romance and erotica together, you will enjoy this sexy, erotic novel from Stephanie Draven.
I first noticed this book on Amazon one day underneath my recommendations and decided to place it on my Wish List. I have always loved the 1920s and the description of this book, as well as the cover, had me already ready to buy it when it released. I was contacted by Stephanie's assistant in January to read the book early and review it. I definitely could not pass it up since the book was on the top of my Wish List so I did not miss out on buying it.
Stephanie Draven not only dived me into the Roaring 1920's with flappers, prohibition, and women's suffrage...but she brought me into a world of 20's erotica that includes BDSM, menage, and scandals.
Three different stories, but each has a connection with each other, which made me love this book even more. I believe more authors should do this kind of writing style. It made everything fall into place and took me into other's people's heads during each story.
The first story, Leave Me or Love Me, is about Nora Richardson and how her husband is going to leave her due to what she did with another man. She will stop at anything to win him back and have him with her forever. She'll even discover things about herself, she never knew she enjoyed. She'll even discover what her husband always wanted from her. This story definitely takes you out of your comfort zone and what Nora endures with her husband. He puts her in certain scenarios that would make women cringe, feel embarrass, or leave their husbands for. Instead, Nora is a strong-willed wife that will please her husband and spite her father, just to prove to her husband she loves him.
The second story, When I'm Bad I'm Better, is about the famous actress, Clara Cartwright, who has never fallen in love. Until, she meets a stranger one night, who has something of hers that could hurt her career. The stranger is about to reveal the real Clara and what she is capable of doing. He'll push her to new boundaries, she never thought she would enjoy, until the stranger introduces her to his best friend. This story leads you into a menage story where Clara is about to be devoured by two handsome guys, but only one will steal her heart permanently and change her for the better.
The last story, Let's Misbehave, is about the working girl Sophie O'Brien, who works at the hotel run by Robert Aster. He is introduced several times in this book. Sophie never thought her fantasies would come true until she is called into her boss's office to discuss the journal that was found in her locker. He wants to make her journal fantasies come alive. In the meantime though, she may be over her head with Robert. Robert also may be over his head...but both are going to find out how much they really need each other in their lives.
I enjoyed all three stories and also enjoyed being taken back in the past with certain historical elements that definitely have intrigued me since I studied the Roarin' Twenties in school. Stephanie Draven did an amazing job on putting everything together and making it feel like I was taken back in that era with her characters.
Each story gets you out of your comfort zone, and Stephanie Draven makes each story more erotic it seems. ( at least in my opinion it was....one of my fave scenes is in the last story....let's just say it involves restraining an individual) =)
This book includes elements of BDSM, menage, and several other elements that you will have to read to find out.
If you love historical romance and erotica together, you will enjoy this sexy, erotic novel from Stephanie Draven.
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